The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-06-14
A FAMOUS ABBEY
Description OF q Visit to . Monastery
Famed I'm Sacred and Profane History.

ure of visiting the Abbey of Klosterneu-
berg, a few miles above Vienna, the
richest and most famous in Austria, and
almost as ancient. 1t belongs to a COM
munity of Augustines, once very nu-
merous, but now diminished to about
forty persons. Their residence is ver-
liable palace, looking from lofty hill
sides over a broad expanse of hill and
valley, of vineyard, forest and meadow
land, great part of which is theirs.
and brings its annual revenue into their
misunderstanding Golfers. 1t is half an
hour by rail from Vienna from the
northern station, and the return by the
boat, aided by the swift current, is eff
fected in a space of time almost as
short. 1t is ten minutes walk from the
station TO the abbey, by road that gen.
fly curves up the slope, past comforta-
ble-looking cottages and little shops
and along garden walls, over which, in
summer time, hang vines heavily loaded
with grapes. MY arrival was ill-timed.
1t was the dinner hour. The monks
were in the refectOries and could not
be disturbed. l appealed to various
menials who were hurrying through
halls with covered dishes that emitted
savory odors, but without avail. They
all said: Come back at two o'clock"
But at two o'clock i wished to be in
Vienna, and it was barely midday.
There seemed TO the servitors to be
something profane in the idea of break
ing in on the hour sacred 10 monastic
rejection with the announcement that a
stranger would like TO look through
the building. Now and then an ele-
gantly-dressed gentleman with sort of
suggestion of a cassock over garments
of fine material and fashionable cut,
with profusion of fine gold about his
person, in the form of watch chain and
seals and tinger-rings. lounged through
one of the bay windows. He regarded
me from distance and disappeared in
the direction of the refectory. Several
thus appeared and vanished, all per-
fectly attired, from head, whose hair
and beard were exquisitely kept, to
dainty feet, encased in the neatest
and most fashionable boot. Can these
fine-looking. Acknowledgement gen.
tlemen, L thought, be the lineal de-
scendantS-no, not the descendants.
since monks are vowed TO celibacy-
the modern representatives rather of
the hermitS of the band of Poly
carps of old, sorely-temp;nd, but I'M
yielding ST. Anthonys, AMI the soiled,
unkempt mendicant friar of the middle
ages? / brought the two extremes to-
gether in my imagination. The con-
trast of the modern millionaire monk
of Austria with his ancient prototype
was so extraordinary as to be absolute
ly irreconcilable.
Finally after much waiting and wan
dering up and down among chilly cor
ridors and great stone staircases worn
with the monastic tread of long ages,
it occurred TO some of the more COM
mercial menials that they turn an
honest kreutZer. So one of the more
enterprising waylaid brother a little
more prOfusely covered with gold than
his fellows, and obtained permission to
show me objects of greatest interest.
Several servants arranged among them
selves to pass me from hand TO hand,
to extract and subdivide the greatest
amount of fee. OF what / saw | will
speak briefly of only the treasure
room and imperial departments rarely |
visited. These treasure-roOms of con-
vents. churches and abbeys contain OBJ
iects of greater or less similarity. |
There are usually among them the APP |
pliances of Catholic Church worship |
richly adorned with precious stones,
the skull of some saint blazing with |
Jewels. In this case il was that of st. |
Leopold, the founder of the abbey. |
The collection is worth many millions
of forms, the principal value being in
diamonds, rubies, emeralds and sap |
phires, many of them embroidered on
priestly robes, themselves precious on
account of the sanctity of those who
once wore them. These treasure-rooms
are jealousy guarded. You enter by
ponderous door which yields unwill-
ingly to a key as large as that Of the
gate of medieval city. The treasure
Ii ranged round the room in great cases,
each closed with doors almost as heavy,
which, thrown open, disclose the OBJ
jects, the most precious in showcases
covered with thick glass.
Twas shown the imperial apartments
by an aged damsel, whose soiled ap-
parel did not correspond with the enor-
nous wealth of the abbey. The novel
and striking feature of her face were
two teeth, which, descending from be-
meath the upperlip, projected over the
neither like the tusks of walrus. They
were two of the pearls that at one